[Football] Bad Boy Batty

In late September, Manchester City players gradually returned to the training ground to recover. Due to the epidemic, this year's summer transfer window will be extended to October, but this will not affect Manchester City because they have finalized two player deals early.

After experiencing the embarrassment of not having a regular central defender last season, the club bought two central defenders at once. Both of them are very popular in the transfer market. They are defenders with excellent passing ability and good physical fitness. They are Portuguese Ruben Dias from Benfica and Dutch central defender Natan Ake from Bournemouth.

"Hi, hello, I'm Bernardo Silva, they all call me Bernardo. Sheki (football director) said you have finished filming the official transfer announcement material, so you can participate in training this afternoon, right? Follow me, I'll take you around to familiarize yourself with the venue. It's big here and it's easy to get lost. By the way - you have to understand the rules. Like all clubs, there are some unknown 'unspoken rules' here."

On the first day when the new players reported for training, B席 volunteered to take them to familiarize themselves with the club. This job was not originally his responsibility, but when he heard that there were new Portuguese players joining the first team, he was very happy and insisted on meeting them in advance, which would help improve his status in the locker room.

Unfortunately, he has to train more than just Diaz, there is also Ake, and Ake doesn't understand Portuguese, so he still has to explain in English.

"This is the lounge. When you're not training, you can come here to play billiards or games. Sometimes when there's an important match, everyone will gather here to watch it - or go to the screening room. I'll take you there later. Pep likes to hold meetings there." Sean B took them around and introduced them to the staff and teammates they met on the way.

"This is the gym, and it's also a place for special training. It was moved outdoors a while ago, but now it's back. You don't have to wear a mask during training, but it's recommended to wear one at other times." Seat B took the lead and came to the outside of the gym. There were some new slogans posted on the glass door. Nothing important, just reminding everyone to reduce physical contact to prevent infection.

Just as he walked to the door, he glanced inside casually. Suddenly, the Portuguese midfielder, who was walking normally, jumped up like a frightened rabbit and quickly retreated to the wall. He patted his chest and muttered to himself. He was still in shock and looked extremely nervous, as if there was some monster in the house that could not be seen.

"What's wrong?" Ruben Dias lowered his voice and asked carefully, "Is there... anything inside?"

Ake didn't say anything. He glanced at Diaz, then shifted his gaze to B Silva with the same question.

"Uh, nothing." Seat B quickly shook off his subconscious control, cleared his throat awkwardly, and stood up. "There is something I have to remind you of. This is very important. I suggest you remember it and save it to the top of your mind."

"What is it?"

B席 sneaked to the door and waved his hand to signal the two men to come over: "Look, the one using the goal post is Batistuta, the famous Manchester City king, a tyrant. The one doing the hip thrust next to him is Kevin De Bruyne, who has a sharp tongue. You need a big heart to chat with him."

Ruben Dias nodded. He had heard all of this. He knew the names of Batistuta and De Bruyne when he was promoted to Benfica's first team, especially Batistuta, who was two years younger than him. But while he was happy to be able to play in the Portuguese Super League, he had already led Manchester City to the Champions League final. It was hard not to be impressed.

“Are they difficult to get along with?” Acker asked.

"It's difficult and not difficult. It depends on the situation." B Silva replied, "Bati and Kevin are very good people, but it's best to have less contact with them during this period, otherwise you may run into trouble."

"Bumped into the muzzle of a gun?" Diaz repeated. "Are they in a bad mood recently?" he asked. "Is it because--" Perhaps it was because of the unsatisfactory results last season. Diaz guessed that players like Batistuta and De Bruyne are usually arrogant, and it is not surprising that they would be angry because they had nothing.

"Because of the quarrel?" Ake asked. He had played in the Premier League before and knew more about the quarrel between the two than Diaz.

"Fight?" Ruben Dias searched for keywords in his mind with difficulty. "Was it during Christmas last year? I remember there was a newspaper report about it."

Ak shrugged. "It's not just Christmas. There have been news reports of their disagreements since last Halloween. The most famous one is probably the cat-stealing incident. My wife particularly likes Batty because of this."

"Oh, so that's true." Dias was a little surprised. Suddenly, this reminded him of a new report that happened recently. "A few days ago, I saw a gossip saying that De Bruyne seemed to have returned the cat to Batistuta. He happened to run into Courtois who went to thank Batistuta, so he beat him up at the door of Batistuta's house. Is this true?"

"I saw the report, too. My wife showed it to me," Ake said. "The Sun's gossip report is very real. At least the pictures taken are real, but 80% of the process may be made up."

Diaz nodded slowly, he and Ake looked at each other, and then they both looked at 席 B at the same time.

"Well, it's basically correct. The quarrel was true, the dog stealing was true, and giving the cat away and beating up Courtois a few days ago were also true." B Silva said.

"So they should have reconciled," Ake concluded.

"Yeah." Diaz looked at B seat in confusion, "Look, Bernardo, what were you afraid of when you saw them in the gym just now?"

"No, no, no, you guys just got here and don't know the current situation yet. But these are Batistuta and Kevin." B席 cleared his throat nervously. "As far as I know, Kevin brought the cat to Batistuta that day in order to negotiate peace, but something went wrong so the talks fell through in the end. Batistuta stole the cat like a robber and then ruthlessly kicked Kevin out."

"so?"

"So..." B Silva drew out his voice and raised his index finger at Dias and Ake, "Manchester City's dressing room unspoken rule No. 1 is to never mention how good they used to be when Batistuta or Kevin or both of them are present. Yes, they are still not reconciled now."

……

On the evening of September 9, Manchester City went to Molineux Stadium to participate in the second round of the 22-2020 Premier League. Their opponent was Wolves.

The new season's games are no different from last season's resumption. There are still cumbersome inspection procedures before the games, hugs and handshakes are not allowed, and there are still no spectators allowed.

It still looks like a training match.

It doesn't feel like an opening game at all.

After the side selection, Batistuta returned to his own half. After finding his position, he knelt on one knee. Yes, the activities in support of black people have not ended yet. As long as the English Football Association does not issue a notice to cancel it, the players must hold this ceremony before the start of the game.

Manchester City is just as unlucky this season as last season, or even worse. More than half of the players have fallen ill just at the beginning of the season. Seven first-team players, including Gundogan, have unfortunately tested positive for the new coronavirus, and Neymar has tested positive for the second time.

When Neymar was infected by Batistuta two months ago, he had symptoms such as coughing and fever. This time is different. It is an asymptomatic infection. Of course, although he does not have to suffer physical pain this time, it is contagious after all, and he must be isolated at home.

Aguero also failed to make the squad, his meniscus surgery did not go well, and he needed treatment from the doctor who lived in Barcelona. Batistuta had hardly seen him at the Etihad since the start of the new season training, and the medical team said it would take at least a month for him to return to the pitch.

Because of these changes, Guardiola did not mention the benching of Batistuta, and put him in the starting lineup naturally and without question. However, this does not mean that the punishment for Batistuta was cancelled. In the training match, the head coach obviously made stricter demands on Batistuta and frequently let him act as a free man.

The role of the libero is the most difficult in training games. The player who serves as the libero does not belong to either side. He is only responsible for offense. No matter which side has the ball, he must react quickly and participate.

Batty likes to be a free man.

To be honest, although he will retreat to defend if asked, deep down he is very happy to be a pure offensive player. Whether he is organizing the attack, supporting the opponent, or completing the final shot, he always enjoys the joy of attacking and scoring goals.

But if his enjoyment is mixed with Guardiola's chatter, that's another matter.

"You shouldn't have run to the wing just now. There was a gap between John and Reuben on the left, but you didn't realize it, or you didn't even see it. If it was Messi, he would definitely move there. Batistuta, you are very good, but there is still a gap between you and Messi. Try to understand what I told you (positioning). I don't want it to happen again."

These are the exact words of Guardiola.

This is also what puzzles all the players.

Although Pep Guardiola often used Messi's performance to stimulate them before, he never said that about Batistuta, so the topic of "privilege" came up. Now he also started to say that about Batistuta, and many people speculated that it was because Messi has not yet determined his next club that the Catalans did so, but after a few days, Guardiola has been stricter with Batistuta, but he still indulges him in other aspects.

So, far from disappearing, Batty’s privileges have increased.

Back to the game.

Although the lineup is somewhat incomplete, Manchester City has sufficient bench depth and Guardiola can still arrange the lineup as needed. In today's game, he tried the standard 4231 double defensive midfielder lineup for the first time.

Goalkeeper Ederson and new defensive player Ake started the game, partnering with Stones, Walker and Zinchenko on both sides; the double defensive midfielders Fernandinho and Rodri, in front of them are De Bruyne, Phil Foden, and Batistuta; Jesus is the lone striker at the front.

According to Guardiola's idea, he originally wanted to test the sweeping and intercepting abilities of the double defensive midfielders in this game, while also paying attention to the protection of the goal by the double central defenders behind them. Unfortunately, Wolves were in poor form, with chaotic passing in the midfield, so Manchester City's frontcourt players were able to successfully steal the ball and counterattack, without using the midfield and backcourt at all.

In the end, Manchester City mercilessly slaughtered Wolfsburg 7-0 away from home. De Bruyne scored a hat-trick, Batistuta scored twice, Foden contributed two assists and one shot, and Rodri scored with a header.

It is worth mentioning a small episode before the opening. After the referee blew the opening whistle, Batistuta immediately stood up from his kneeling position and ran, completely forgetting the 15-second protest and moment of silence. After rushing out, he quickly realized that something was wrong, blew his lower lip to complain, and then knelt back.

Many netizens who saw this scene joked that if he did not have black ancestry, it would probably cause dissatisfaction among some people.

In addition, De Bruyne has been in great form in the new season, shining throughout the game with 3 goals and 3 assists. The extremely high data made the commentators give him a high score of 9.9, and he finally won the MVP of the game.

After the game, Barty was interviewed in the mixed interview area. As he expected, the reporter asked the questions that everyone was most concerned about.

[Kevin scored 3 goals today and assisted you with 1 goal. He also won the MVP. Do you have anything to say about your quarrel? I noticed that you cooperated very smoothly during the game.]

Batty scratched his hair and lowered his head deliberately, his eyes flickering: "This is normal, we are all professional players, we have to be responsible for the team. Today's game was great, everyone played exceptionally well, the opponent was not in good shape, so we created a lot of opportunities and seized them all. To be honest, we didn't think it would be a big score before the game."

At this time, De Bruyne happened to walk by.

He did not choose the spacious place next to him, but deliberately passed behind Batistuta and bumped into his shoulder intentionally or unintentionally. Batistuta staggered forward and almost swallowed the reporter's microphone into his mouth.

"Hey! Don't you have eyes?" The Manchester City king turned around and cursed.

De Bruyne did not react at all, nor did he apologize or even look at Batistuta. He waved to other reporters to indicate that he did not want to be interviewed, and then left the mixed interview area.

Batistuta frowned fiercely, then smiled when he saw the camera. After saying goodbye to the reporters, he quickly followed the direction De Bruyne left.

"Oh - see, our news is here." The reporter sighed meaningfully, "What do you think of a headline like [Internal strife continues, conflicts between the king and the knights deepen, and the atmosphere is tense]?"

……

At the same time, the two people who should have been on edge were kissing in the bathroom of the Wolves' home stadium. No one would disturb them because before coming in, De Bruyne took out the "Under Maintenance" sign from the cleaning truck and placed it at the door.

"You were in really good shape today, in every aspect." Batistuta leaned against the board in the cubicle, holding De Bruyne's face with his left hand and resting his right hand on his shoulder. "I love the last pass you gave me. It's a work of art and should be framed and hung on the wall!"

"Keep going. I love to hear it." The Belgian midfielder grabbed Batistuta's butt and lifted him up, then reached out along the outside line of his shorts to his knees to help him wrap his legs tighter. Apparently, this game did not exhaust all his strength. On the contrary, the surprisingly good result made his adrenaline surge, and it stimulated his brain to issue commands all the way, doing things that made people's blood boil at a constant speed.

Barty tightened his arms around him, and they held that position as they exchanged a second deep kiss.

"I have to say, you acted really well just now. So did I. When I left, I could feel the burning gazes of the reporters on my back." Batty teased as he kissed her, "What do you think they will write?"

"It just means we haven't reconciled yet." De Bruyne pulled down the two men's troublesome shorts and threw them on the ground. Anyway, they had become dirty during the game and would be thrown into the dirty clothes hamper when they returned to the locker room.

He lowered his head, and his eyes were instantly attracted by Batistuta's brightly colored underwear printed with roses and leaves, which made him feel unhappy for a moment, because it was obviously not Batistuta's style, and the only Frenchman in Manchester City who wore this type of underwear was Lucas Hernandez.

Thinking of this, De Bruyne couldn't help but think of the compressed package he accidentally sent to the other party a few days ago. He hoped that guy would not check it carefully, he thought.

Soon, Batty was over.

He shook his hands, hugged De Bruyne's neck, and transferred all his weight to him.

"You're too heavy, Batistuta," De Bruyne said, squeezing him. "Pep would faint with joy if he knew."

"Yeah, I believe he will. He is committed to making me gain weight and become more versatile." Batty said indifferently, and then he reached out to playfully touch the wet strands of hair behind De Bruyne's ears and asked, "How long are you going to play?"

"What do you mean? Now? I believe we still have a few minutes." De Bruyne said and moved deliberately.

Batty yelled a few times in cooperation, then propped himself up and said, "Seriously, how long are you going to play this game of pretend quarreling?"

De Bruyne thought for a moment, "How about Christmas?"

"And then it's a logical progression to give this (reconciliation) as a gift to the locker room? Perfect," Batty commented, and then he pressed his backhand against the wall of the cubicle. "So - back to the previous question, how many minutes do we have?"

……

Before Guardiola ended the press conference, Batistuta and De Bruyne finished their extra exercises and returned to the locker room one after another. To be precise, De Bruyne went back first and Batistuta went back later.

Just as Batty was taking off his clothes and walking towards his locker, Loach suddenly jumped out.

"Messi announced that he will stay with the team, boss!" he said, "And there is something even more explosive, Tite resigned! Yes, that Tite you are thinking of, your national team coach!"

Barty blinked.

"Huh?"

(End of this chapter)